World Environment Day 2017: I'm #WithNature

It’s just over one month (34 days in fact) until we get to celebrate one of our favourite days of the UN calendar - World Environment Day!

This year’s theme, Connecting People to Nature, encourages us to get outdoors and explore nature, appreciating its beauty and taking forward the message to protect the Earth that we all share.

To celebrate, UN Environment is running a photo challenge, asking us all to post a photo of our favourite protected area on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #WithNature. You can also submit your photo via email. Along with your photo, UN Environment would love to know why you value your special place. A selection of the photos submitted will be shared on the World Environment Day website, as well as on their Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Keep an eye out for more WED action from UN Environment including competitions, online quizzes and a whole menu of ideas to help you celebrate the day.

The value of nature

Over the last few decades we have gained, thanks to scientific advances and increased awareness of environmental matters, a much better understanding of the countless ways in which natural systems support our own prosperity and well-being. Whilst nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms, what they have to offer mankind is invaluable.

This World Environment Day organisers are challenging us to find fun and exciting way to experience and cherish this valuable relationship. Whether you pay a visit to one of your country’s national parks or take a stroll through one of your city’s green spaces, WED is an ideal occasion to go out and explore what nature has to offer.

In the age of concrete and smartphones (and the many other distractions of modern life), connections with nature can be fleeting. But with your help, World Environment Day can make it clearer than ever that we need harmony between humanity and nature so that both are able to thrive.

What is World Environment Day?

World Environment Day, which is this year hosted by Canada, is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every 5 June. Since it began in 1972, global citizens have organized many thousands of events, from neighbourhood clean-ups, to action against wildlife crime, to replanting forests.